— running 26.2 and having foodie adventures too!

Monthly Archives: March 2013

I was super excited to represent Team Refuel at the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Half Marathon on 2/24/13! Any excuse to fly down to New Orleans is a good one! I knew that I was going to indulge in some good ol’ Cajun food and fried chicken, but I wanted to do well in the half marathon to test my fitness. It was definitely a balancing act.

Leftover Mardi Gras decorations on houses

I arrived late Friday night so I could pick up my packet at the expo on Saturday. But first things first, my friend Steven and I headed to Willie Mae’s Scotch House for the best fried chicken in America (according to the Travel Channel and Food Network).

Waiting for fried chicken at Willie Mae’s

There were a bunch of people waiting for their fried chicken at 11am when we got there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t eat in the dining room because there were plumbing problems, and all orders were packed to go. No big deal–we enjoyed our lunch in the car! I ordered the white meat chicken with buttered beans and rice. It was a steal at $13.

My pre-race meal: fried chicken at WIllie Mae’s the day before . SO good. Top three fried chicken ever.

The verdict? Definitely worth the trip to Treme and it was the top 3 best fried chicken I’ve ever had. The only other fried chicken comparable to it was at Coop’s Place (NOLA) and The Redhead (NYC). I’ll have to come back next time!

Off we went to the expo. I picked up my packet and met up with fellow Team Refuel members Jesus and Jeremy who also happened to be at the Got Chocolate Milk? booth at the same time. Picture time!

Me and Jesus S. Go Team Refuel!

I love the Cavalcade of Curiosities display by Brooks!

The expo was a bit of a madhouse–I got a free t-shirt as a door prize from Brooks’ “Cavalcade of Curiosities,” some Powerbar Fruit packet samples, but not much else. I missed meeting Kara Goucher, but I did get to see my NYC friends (and fellow Kara fans) Benny, Carol and Keila at the expo. Good luck everyone!

Before I headed to my pre-race meal at Domenica, I sat down to hear a chat between running greats Frank Shorter (gold medalist in the Munich Olympic marathon) and Rod Dixon (past NYC Marathon champion). I got photos with them afterwards!

Me and Frank Shorter

Me and Rod Dixon

At around 4:30pm, I headed to my early dinner reservation at Domenica. I ate super early for two reasons: 1) it was the only reservation I could get last minute due to the gobs of people in town, 2) Happy hour lasts until 6pm and pizzas and beer are 50% off! Good to know. I came here last year and was very impressed by the food and modern ambience, so I wanted to come back.

This time, my friend and I ordered the wild mushroom and bacon pizza with farm egg (yum) and the squid ink tagliolini with blue crab meat and lemon sauce. The tagliolini was buttery and oily but sooo good!

Domenica’s squid ink tagliolini

Wild mushroom and bacon pizza with farm egg

Admittedly, I didn’t do too much research this time around about food. Next time, I would love to try a new place like Jacques-imo’s, the Upperline restaurant, and/or Cochon. There’s just too many good places to eat. There’s also super pricey options like Galatoire’s brunch, Antoine’s and Commander’s Palace…maybe in a few more years haha. I’m just happy eating good food without breaking the bank!

Race Day– Sunday 2/24

I woke up super early and excited to run! I was representing Team Refuel and I wanted to get there early to meet my friends. I also had access to the VIP tent so I wanted to take advantage of that too.

Steven was a good sport and dropped me off at the start line, bright and early at 6:00am (race started at 7:00). I chatted with some Team Refuel members, including Jeremy and George, and relaxed in the VIP area where they had muffins, bananas, and private bathrooms for us. These things make a difference when you’re in a rush! I also met up with my Aussie friends Jane and Trent, who I haven’t seen since the 2012 Tokyo Marathon!

Jane, Trent and myself

There were a lot of notable elite athletes running the half. I didn’t realize it at the time I signed up for the half-marathon; normally I opt for the longer distance, but I ran the full marathon last year and got Louisiana as a state in my 50 states quest. I wanted to be able to sightsee and enjoy the food without worrying about 26.2 miles this time. Mo Farah, Meseret Defar, Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher were some of the boldface names running in the half marathon. I didn’t see them in the VIP tent at the start, but I told myself that I’d run fast enough to at least catch them post-finish in the VIP tent! Good motivation! Usually elite runners are more than happy to greet fans post-competition, especially if they had a good day.

The course was flat and fast, and ran through the most interesting parts of New Orleans. I ran a PR here one year and wanted to do myself proud again. Secretly I was aiming for a 1:55, but it was still early in the season and I wasn’t in peak shape yet.

During the race, I didn’t feel 100% myself. Then, I remembered that I had oily tagliolini and fried chicken for fuel. That was probably it. I could have regretted it but I didn’t–just gritted my teeth and pressed on.

The weather was perfect–nice and cool but not windy. I remembered wishing I had my sunglasses on as we ran down St. Charles Ave. The out-and-back course allowed us to spot the elite athletes, so that was cool to watch. Mo was running like a champ, and Shalane and Meseret were neck-and-neck in the women’s race.

I was actually on pace to run a PR for the first 7-8 miles of the race, then I bonked and ran out of gas. As we ran through the French Quarter in the final miles, I told myself to hold on. I still wanted to finish under 2:00, fried chicken in my stomach or not. We enter City Park and I know I’m almost done. My legs were fatigued but I urged them on. As I crossed the finish line, the announcer gave me a Team Refuel shout out! I vaguely remember him saying “Look at her sprint it in! Must be the chocolate milk!” As a rule, I always try to sprint it in to the finish. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t run hard enough. It just means that I want to finish strong.

Here were my results:

Net time: 1:58:36 (9:03 pace)

Overall: 1983/9270

Gender: 760/5867

Age group: 159/985

I was pretty pleased with my placing, especially because I placed in the top 13% of women. Sweet! It turns out that I was the first Team Refuel member to finish the half marathon as well. A Team Refuel rep, Lindsey, greeted me at the finish with encouragement and ice cold chocolate milk. It was nice to see a smiling face at the end!

I met up with Jeremy (also on Team Refuel) at the VIP tent, and we chatted away while waiting for our respective friends. There was hot food like pasta, muffalettas, and po’ boys in the tent. There were beignets and yogurt cups too! As if that weren’t enough, you could get a mimosa and we had our own private supply of chocolate milk. So awesome!

Best of all, the elite athletes were chilling in the same space while they waited for the awards ceremony. I was really excited about meeting them, but I especially wanted to meet Mo. He became a household name since he won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m in the London Olympics. He also won the half-marathon in a sick time of 1:00:59!

Me and Mo Farah–he won in 1:00:59!

Me and Kara Goucher

Kara Goucher was so funny and sweet. Even though I’ve met her multiple times, I always make an effort to say hello if she’s doing an appearance. She asked her agent if she had spinach in her teeth before taking a photo with me, haha.

It was a great day. It’s my third time running this race in New Orleans and I feel blessed that Team Refuel sponsored my race entry this year. Thanks Team Refuel! I really enjoyed meeting teammates from different geographical areas. Everyone is really nice.

Finally, you’d think I was able to rest and take a nap after all that running, but I went sightseeing and eating instead. I met up with friends at Oceana for some gumbo. I had previously had an illy coffee and a strawberry and Nutella crepe at Merchants cafe, so that was my brunch. We also walked around in the French Quarter, where I did some souvenir shopping and explored the French Market a bit more.

Nice hat!

For dinner, Steven and I met up again and we headed to Coop’s Place for some more delicious fried chicken. They use an awesome spice/pepper blend for their chicken and I can’t resist going here for the third time! The chicken comes with jambalaya too. I wish I could eat like this more often.

Fried chicken and jambalaya at Coop’s Place

It started raining, and after dinner we headed to Cafe du Monde for their famous beignets and chicory coffee. We tried going yesterday at 11am but the line was ridiculous. At 8pm on a Sunday, we sat down right away. I missed out on going to Cafe du Monde last year so I made up for lost time!

Beignets at Cafe du Monde

Finally, as I walked down Bourbon Street (not a huge fan of the touristy scene), I noticed how quiet and beautiful the street was in the rain. This is probably one of my favorite photos I’ve taken in recent memory. Soon, I would fly out at 7am and return back to my beloved NYC. Until next time!

Can you believe it’s March already?? February was super short and snowy, but I did enjoy some great food thanks to NYC Restaurant week and my latest coffee obsession. So, sometime between the end of January and beginning of February I decided to take full advantage of restaurant week with some friends and family. I went to Ai Fiori (one of my favorite Italian restaurants) with Mom, then I had lunch at Rouge Tomate, lunch at Quality Meats, and dinner at Park Avenue Winter. I’m a lucky gal. I love sharing food with people I care about. Here’s a glimpse at some treats from my latest outings:

Hudson Valley duck at Rouge Tomate

Lunch at Rouge Tomate. Love their decor! They even have a mini cranberry bog in the lounge!

Coffee and doughnuts ice cream (left) and lemon sorbet at Quality Meats. (the meat was good too…)

Dinner at Park Avenue Winter with Sara (photo credit: Sara Yoon)

Benefit Cosmetics/Oscars launch party

On February 19, Mary and I attended a cool Gilt City event at the Yotel. It was a Benefit Cosmetics/Oscars launch party sponsored by Bailey’s. There were great cocktails, gift bags, makeovers and eyebrow waxes by Benefit. Sweet! We had to buy the ticket, but it included a $40 make-up certificate credit to purchase products at Benefit, so it was worth it. The hors d’ouvres were also to die for. They had chocolate ganache tartlets, caramel flan, sliders, empanadas and more. We had a blast.

The lounge at the Yotel

Me and Mary with one of the Yotel’s residents

Red carpet photos!

About Coffee

Did I mention that I have a mild obsession with coffee? I actually used to dislike coffee, and only drank it during marathon study sessions in college, at night. I rarely drank coffee to “wake up,” as I actually preferred tea. I also never drank coffee black, it always had to be a latte. So what changed? Well, two years ago I dated someone who loved “good” coffee. He took me to some great coffeehouses and taught me that there’s more to coffee than Starbucks. He introduced me to cold-brew coffee at Joe. That was a pretty awesome turning point.

So now, I am somewhat of a coffee snob. I still have a lot to learn, but I appreciate good coffee and I drink it maybe 2-3 times a week. (You thought I was going to say “per day,” did you?) My favorite places are Stumptown Coffee at the Ace Hotel, Joe (Chelsea or Grand Central), Baked (Red Hook) and now, Gorilla Coffee. Yes, I even bought their thermos.

salted caramel cupcake at Baked and a latte

Gorilla Coffee in Brooklyn

Gorilla coffee was awesome, because when I bought their $30 Klean Kanteen thermos, I asked the guy whether I would get a discount on the coffee. I didn’t exactly sweet talk him, but…he ended up giving me and my friend a free coffee each. Sweet! It’s the little things that make my day. Thanks, barista!

New Orleans sneak preview (2/23-2/25)

In a few days, I will write a full-fledged blog entry about how awesome the Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans half-marathon was. I just wanted to put in some teaser photos though. I flew down there because Team Refuel sponsored my race bib, for the food, and to see my friends. What more could I ask for? I also got to meet some elite athletes (aka my running idols). Stay tuned…

My pre-race meal: fried chicken at Willie May’s the day before . SO good. Top three fried chicken ever. The gravy stuff is buttered beans.

Finally…

Coogan’s Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K, 3/3/13

The day of Coogan’s 5K was all-around awesome. The day before was great too. I carbo-loaded with lobster vindaloo at Junoon for brunch:

Lobster vindaloo. I don’t mess around with my pre-race meals.

It was every bit as delicious as it looks. Junoon was a beautiful restaurant too–I was a fan of the decor.

So I woke up at 6:30am so I could get to Washington Heights on time. It was an hour and 15 minutes away by train, but luckily I got there 30 minutes before the 9:00am start. I couldn’t warm up because it was 29F out! I huddled in a mass with the other runners at the start. It was my very first Coogan’s race in my 10 years of running NYRR races! I’m usually out of town or doing some other race that weekend. I was excited but nervous about the hilly course. I was wearing my Dashing Whippets jersey so I didn’t want to turn in a bad performance!

Wams, myself and Ray before the start

It was my first 5K race (distance-wise) in a long time, so I didn’t know what to expect. The course was hilly as promised, with an out-and-back starting at the New Balance Track and Field Center (The Armory), looping around Fort Tryon Park with stunning views of the Hudson river, and then looping back towards the start. I ran my little heart out. Even though it wasn’t super fast, I tried my best and I was hunched over at the finish line–my watch read 25:40, or 8:17 minutes/mile pace.

Placing: 137th in age group/573

527/2890 females

1957/5825 overall

Another race in the books. I’m happy.

I reunited with some Whippets at the finish line, when suddenly I hear someone calling “Lisa!” I turn around and whaddaya know, it’s Dan P. from the Stuy track team! I ran track and cross country at Stuyvesant H.S., and the girls’ and guys’ teams were friendly with each other. We end up catching up over brunch at Coogan’s post-race, and then we say hello to Coach Mendes (the very same coach Dan had in H.S.) inside the Armory, since a track meet was going on at the same time, and then we also said hi to Laura, whose last name happens to be Coogan (no relation to the sports bar). I was teammates with Laura, and it was cool to bump into her as well.

The brunch at Coogan’s consisted of scrambled eggs, pastrami on rye, shepherd’s pie, and 100% Colombian Coffee. The coffee was surprisingly good.

As if running a 5K wasn’t enough, Dan and I then went rock climbing on a whim at Brooklyn Boulders. I love that place, and I never seem to have enough time to go. I bouldered for about 45 minutes. My legs were somewhat weak after the race, but I am getting a bit better at climbing the more I go.

In fact, I just bought a 5-pack of day passes at Brooklyn Boulders so I can work on my core strength and have more fun climbing. Cross training, here I come!